Jar-sealing apparatus.



UNITED STATES Patented May 9, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. LORENZ, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- FOURTH TOHIMSELF, ONE-HALF TO BEECH- IUT PACKING COMPANY,

OF CANAJOHARIE, NEIV YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK, AND ONE-FOURTH TOWVILLIAM H.'HONISS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

JAR-SEALING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,699, dated May 9,1905.

Application filed February 3, 1902. Serial No. 92,329.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and Stateof Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Jar- Sealing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for exhausting andhermetically sealing jars, cans, and similar receptacles, andparticularly relates to that class of apparatus in which the seal ismade automatically by the readmitted atmospheric pressure after thedesired vacuum is obtained.

My preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in the drawings, inwhich similar letters refer to similar parts, and in which Figure 1 is aside view in section taken along the line 1 1 of Fig. 2, the right-handpresser 11 not being included in the section,but shown unsectioned inorder to represent its external appearance and to show the gasket 15.Fig.

2 is an end View in section taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3is an end view similar to that of Fig. 2 except that the movable partsare shown in another position.

Vacuum jars of the type herein shown for the preservation of food andother products are usually closed by means of a gasket and a cap havinga flange which compresses the gasket upon the jar, thereby making ahermetic joint, the cover being firmly held upon the jar by atmosphericpressure after a suitable vacuum has been obtained in the jar and the010- sure sealed. In order to obtain the best results, the covers of thejars should be maintained loosely upon the gaskets during the exhaustingoperations; but in that case it is necessary to seal the closure-jointssecurely after a suitable vacuum has been obtained in the jars beforereadmitting the air to the joints; otherwise the air would be liable toreenter the jars and destroy or at least impair the vacuum therein.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple apparatus which isoperated automatically to make the seal by the readmitted atmosphericpressure after the required vacuum has been obtained in the receiverwithout allowing the readmitted air to reach the joints.

This apparatus, comprising my preferred embodiment of this invention asillustrated in the drawings, is employed in connection with anair-exhausting receiver R, forming a jarchamber, having an outlet-pipeO, connected with any suitable air-exhausting pump. One or moreplatform-chambers 10 are formed in the lower portion of the receiver,separated from the jar-chamber R by means of the vertically movable jarplatforms 11, fitted in guides 12, which encompass these platforms. Themovement of the platforms 11 is limited in any convenient way, beingherein shown to rest upon the bottom 8 of the receiver R at their lowestposition and being stopped at their upward limit of movement by theabutments 14 colliding with the shoulders 13. The platforms 11 may beprovided with packing 15 along its edges, making a close joint with theguides 12. When the platforms 11 are in' their downward position, theirupper surfaces are approximatelyin the same plane, and their front edgesare preferably beveled, as shown at 16, to allow the jars or the traysto slide over easily. The jars J to be sealed are placed in the receiverR, either directly upon the platforms 11 or upon trays 9. The platforms11 or the trays 9 are made with such reference to the top 17 of thereceiver that the covers C of the jars J will clear that top, leaving aspace above the caps suificient to permit of their being displacedvertically during the exhausting operation. This space may be sufficientto allow of this movement even if the jars are of slightly-differingheight. I prefer that the caps shall not touch the top 17 during theexhausting operation in order that no pressure shall be brought uponthat cap.

The platform-chambers 10 are connected with the outlet-pipe O by meansof the branch pipe S, a shut-off valve V being placed in the pipe 0between its junction with the receiver R and the pipe S. The pipe S isprovided with an inlet-valve I. j The pipe S may have branches beloweach one of the platforms 11, or, as shown in the drawings, thesechambers may be connected by means of openings 18, thereby permittingthe readmitted air to reach all of the platform-chambers.

In the operation of this apparatus the filled jars, having their coversin position upon their respective gaskets, are placed upon trays 9 orare placed directly upon the platforms 11, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,the jars and trays being pushed into the receiver upon the platforms, asmany of the platforms being employed as may be required. The front ofthe receiver is then hermetically closed and the exhausting operationbegins, during which operation the valve V is opened and the inlet I isclosed, thereby permitting the air to be exhausted fromtheplatform-chambers 10, the jar-chamber R, and the interior of the jars.When a suitable vacuum has thus been obtained, the valve V is closed andthe inlet I is opened, thus permitting the air-pressure to be readmittedto the platform-chamber, while temporarily excluding it from thejar-chamber R, thereby enabling the-readmitted atmospheric platforms tohave their full effect upon the pressers 11, and thus elevating themfrom the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to that shown in Fig. 3. Theupward movement of these platforms forces the jars and their The,

for readmitting atmospheric pressure to the I platform-chamber, and aplatform forming a movable wall between the two chambers to support thejars, and to substantially exclude air passing from the platform-chamberto the jar-chamber.

2. In a jar-sealing apparatus,in combination with a jar-chamber, aplatform-chamber below and adjacent to the jar-chamber, a movableplatform for supporting the jars, forming a movable wall between the twochambers, a guide encompassing the platform and forming a substantiallyclose joint with it, means for exhausting air from both chambers, andmeans for read mitting air first to the platform-chamher and then to thejar-chamber.

3. In a jar-sealing apparatus,in combination with a jar-chamber, aseriesof platform-chambers below and adjacent to the jar-chamber, movableplatforms for supporting the jars and forming close-jointed movablewalls between the platform-chambers and'the jarchamber, means forexhausting air from all the chambers, and means for readmitting airfirst to the platform-chambers and then to the jar-chamber.

Signed at Hartford, Connecticut, this 1st day of February, 1902.

WILLIAM A. LORENZ.

Witnesses:

E. H. LORENZ, J OSEPH MERRITT.

